#you know who ive REALLY been missing....

[scarredsands]

Waves of heat rolled up off the desert sands, the hot summer sun scorching all it laid its rays upon. Vegetation among the dunes was sparse. The plants that did dot the desert were all dangerous in their own right, evolving and changing to acclimate to the harsh, almost otherworldly climate. Thorns and poisons alike were the main make up of the flora, and even the most innocuous flower likely packed a poison that could take down even the largest being.

A low drone rumbled steadily through the dunes, dust and particles lifting in the air around the hoverbike. A lone figure was perched on the bike, screaming its way through the scorched landscape.

Saya readjusted the scarf around her face, ensuring it was still secured over her nose. She had dampened it before she took off for the desert for a cooling effect, though it was mostly dried by now in the heat. At least it had done its job, protecting her from getting pelted by sand, and from ingesting it.

Her control over her bike was no less than expert, commanding total mastery of her vehicle. To watch her ride was almost like watching an art, a dance of master and machine that was both daring yet exhilarating. Most people who rode the way she did would be sure to meet an early grave, but she knew her bike better than she knew most people - even herself.

There was no other sound she could hear besides the roaring, white-hot engines behind her. They rattled her entire being, shaking her teeth with the ferocity of which they operated. As she twist the throttle, it only grew louder. Sand particles pelted the red lenses of her goggles, dotting the bits of hair she had still exposed.

The bike screamed up a tall dune, cresting it with ease. Saya slowed her bike as she reached the apex, steadying it as she put her feet down into the sand. A long breath left her as she lift her goggles, peering out into the desert horizon.

A wall of sand was what greeted her to the north. It was dozens of miles high, rolling quickly across the landscape. She could feel the hot winds hitting her face from that direction - such a wind was impossible to be considered 'refreshing', feeling more as if it were a rolling heat from opening a hot oven.

It was what she loved the most about the desert. In all of its glory, it was cruel, and it was unforgiving. There was no respite to be had in such a volatile land. It was why she couldn't stay away for too long - it called back to her like a siren's song. Part of her had to wonder if this was how sailors felt about the ocean. A cruel force of nature with an almost tangible allure. Dangerous to fools, but rewarding to those who could fight and survive. Her rides out into the wilderness were common these days, especially with how slow the League always was.

"Regis," her voice was dry and hoarse. Saya took a momentary pause to move her scarf, taking her hefty canteen from her bike's saddlebag. The water was like heaven, still refreshingly cool thanks to how insulated the container was. "Y'been towin' along this entire time?" Saya continued, recapping her water and placing it back into the bag.

The sand next to her shifted, rolling and slipping away from a titanic steel golem. The Registeel completely dwarfed both Saya and her bike, blotting the sun out and providing the woman with a bit of shade. Regis' red eyes slowly and methodically blinked, a pattern that Saya was thankful to understand. 'Yes. Ensuring your safety.'

There was a small chuckle that left her. Saya moved her goggles back over her eyes, and moved her scarf back over her mouth and nose. With a final check to make sure her low ponytail was stuffed properly into her jacket, she'd start up her bike again. It lift slowly, sending a spray of sand and dust away from the hover discs.

She'd reach her hand out towards the Registeel, tapping quickly along its body. The noise was shockingly hollow, something that Saya had been surprised by at first - but now she was used to it. The golem was a strange companion, one she had unearthed after a night trip out to the desert with Mags a long while back. Saya hadn't even done anything either. The Registeel was intent on tagging along with her, for one reason or another.

'My safety? Funny. Hope you're ready for a sandstorm.' Her eyes crinkled under her goggles, and though her face was mostly covered, it was easy to tell she was grinning.

[critter-wizard]

ep 43 had me tearing up in a fucking shopping centre ‼️‼️

b+w alt version that I truly couldn't decide if I liked it more . Also I included a lot of thoughts in the tags but they're somewhat incoherent<3

[keirientez]

aug - early sep log

[spacedlexi]

twdg s4 really gave us an adorable wlw romance for the main character about building a home and a family where the two antagonists are an evil woman who she was partially cared for by as a child and her girlfriends fucked up not-exactly-ex girlfriend who wants her dead (who has been manipulated by Evil Woman and they are character foils) AND its written by a gay woman and its fucking CRICKETS!!!!! i dont understand !!!!!!!

[captn3]

until next time.... stay fresh [plain text: until next time.... stay fresh]

[artist-rat]

this is unlike the stuff i usually post, but wanted to share. it's from a project i started a few days ago. (i've felt like testing sth like this for a longer while—just some loose lines, little critters i love, and warm words.) 🧡

unrelated and not, our beloved cat passed away yesterday morning. i'd just happened to draw this the day before we said goodbye. so i feel like it's for her. ❤️

[skunkes]

the bad: i have been raised without much warmth from my parents in childhood, but also pressured to conform to familial authority, doubt myself always, and value familial connections above all else (<- failed at this, and feel guilt about it.)

but also in experiencing this i have been so isolated from the entire rest of the world and others, that it will be nearly impossible to create my own "family" -> find safety and comfort in anybody else once my family is Gone. despite dis i find it really difficult to break away from the familiar, disobey and disappoint, because, well, why are my wishes more important than anybody else's. why would I cause upset and distress in anybody, and exert so much effort into my doubt filled half decisions, for my meaningless little Wishes. being away would also mean less time with these people who I'll never see again once they're gone. being raised this way is definitely paying off for those who did so.

the good: yaaaay adjacent inspiration for writing talon lore

[moonchild-in-blue]

no because the more that i think about it the more pissed i get at that espera take 🤨

[abortionado]

I'm still on the close friends story of my evil twink friend from high school and he somehow has beef with everyone in the entire world so I eagerly await his posts for the next installment of drama between a random guy I've never met in my life and another random guy I haven't seen since age 17

[unforth]

I. Hurt.

And I was hurting anyway, I'm pretty down this morning, but this hurt came from an outside source, and affected me in a way I'd honestly not have expected.

See, we bought Nimona last week. After seeing the movie, my kids wanted to read it. And I ended up reading ahead, and I just finished it.

Bonus content at the end, it said, and I was like, oh, an epilogue to the epilogue maybe? That'd be nice. I don't love bittersweet endings, I'd rather...

...no, it's not the conclusion.

It's CHRISTMAS.

In a book that'd had no religion that I noticed up to that point, BOTH bonus extras...were Christmas.

Ya know, usually it doesn't bother me. Usually I just suck it up. I think it helps that I was raised around mostly Jews and people who, if Christian, it didn't matter much to them. I'm from the Upper West Side of Manhattan, the descendent of Lower East Side immigrants, and while the world outside was brutal - my grandfather was a World War 2 veteran and among the soldiers who liberated Dachau, I can't remember a time when I didn't know that most people would look the other way if people like me were slaughtered wholesale - my bubble was safe, we were accepted, we were insiders.

I honestly can't think of another time I've interacted with a piece of media and felt so immediately, instantly knocked across the face by OUTSIDER as I just did when I excitedly turned the page to see what these fun extra bonuses were...and it was fucking Christmas.

I didn't even read them.

I'm honestly. So disappointed.

I don't have a thick armor for this kind of hurt. I'm Jewish, and as an adult living outside my old UWS bubble, that's often meant I've felt like an outlier, but I've hardly ever had this feeling where I was welcome to something only to be suddenly, violently shoved out the door.

And I've heard nothing, n.o.t.h.i.n.g. but praise for this book. And on another day, it might not have bothered me. I've never really felt like I had to fight to be seen, especially since I'm tremendously secular. I mean, I've celebrated Christmas my entire life, for starters.

But why. Why was this fantasy setting suddenly Christian? Why was this the touted extra content? Why is THIS special, when the areligious world established to that point was apparently not special enough?

I can't say yet if this ruined the story for me. It's far too soon. But I'm *intensely*, viscerally let down, and...I hurt.

Christians...maybe stop doing this shit.

[cator99]

I always get detained at da border because PROFUNC never ended but basically I'm like if a targeted individual didn't even care

[sieglinde-freud]

thinking about them and banging my head against the wall again whats new. they are making me so emo. god. what the fuck

[technicolorxsn]

love how there are pretentious video essays that just repeat the book and meander and ramble about house of leaves. it's what zampanó would have wanted. it is not, however, what I want

[an-theduckin]

Wait shit people might actually care about me

[weregonnabecoolbeans]

Update on how reading Thrawn: Alliances is going

I am s t r u g g l i n g to finish it..im barely past halfway

[skunkes]

if life is categorized by Before Loss and After Loss then I exist in the before but with a countdown to the after. and the countdown is always always present and debilitating. the loss will be debilitating too but i cant help myself. i will always suffer twice.